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Yow Yow! During Shelter in Place

After making a sandwich for lunch, I sat down in front of my TV anticipating the announcement regarding California’s shelter-in-place. Normally, I wouldn’t even turn on the TV until after the work, but I didn’t want to miss any news. Shelter-in-Place would be extended and continue throughout the month of May. It didn’t come off as a surprise and all weekend I had been wondering when I would know if I was ready to be back out in the world. By the end of May, this will have lasted about two-and-a-half months.

Looking back, my naive self thought that this time would be a gift. For once, I was going to be able to catch up on my to-do-list – maybe even complete it in a month. Everything I had been putting off would get done. The last time I had a dedicated chunk of time to write was over the holidays and I longed for that time again. Yow Yow! would be exploding with content! What I didn’t anticipate was how shelter-in-place might impact me both mentally and emotionally. Days go by as I struggle to think of content or string words together. In addition to Yow Yow! I also still have a day job. Sometimes my focus becomes diverted from that as I struggle to process the news of what’s happening in the world.

As I think about the next month ahead of me, I’m cutting myself some slack. Some days there will be content and some days there won’t be. There will be moments where I need to take a nap in the middle of the day (hopefully not too many!) but more often than not, I need to remember to take care of myself first and foremost. After all, this is still a pandemic. We can’t expect every blogger or writer to operate at the same level as we’re used to.